England's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures: Schedule, kick-off times, play-off dates for Thomas Tuchel's side
Published 18/03/2025 at 14:32 GMT
Thomas Tuchel's England begin their journey towards the 2026 World Cup with two matches at Wembley over the next week against Albania and Latvia. The Three Lions then play six more group matches in European qualifying as they bid to reach the World Cup. We run through England's fixtures in 2025, including friendlies, potential play-offs and when they next play in the UEFA Nations League.
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England start their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign this week as they host Albania.
The game at Wembley is the first of eight qualifying group matches and will see Thomas Tuchel take charge of The Three Lions for the first time.
The 12 group winners from European qualifying will automatically secure their spots at the World Cup, while the 12 group runners-up will join the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League in the play-offs.Â
Four teams will progress from the play-offs to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Who are England facing in World Cup qualifying? What friendlies do they have lined up this year? And when is the 2026 World Cup?
England World Cup qualifying fixtures
England will be fancied to make a strong start to their Group K campaign with a Wembley double-header against Albania (March 21) and Latvia (March 24).
They will also start as strong favourites when they play Andorra twice across the summer on June 7 and September 6 respectively.
Potentially the trickiest match in the group comes on September 9 as England travel to Serbia.
The Three Lions finish with matches against Serbia (home on November 13) and Albania (away on November 16).
England fixture schedule
*19:45 UK time kick-off unless stated
| Fixture | Date |
| England v Albania | Fri, Mar 21 |
| England v Latvia | Mon, Mar 24 |
| Andorra v England (17:00) | Sat, Jun 7 |
| England v Andorra (17:00) | Sat, Sept 6 |
| Serbia v England | Tue, Sept 9 |
| Latvia v England | Tue, Oct 14 |
| England v Serbia | Thu, Nov 13 |
| Albania v England (17:00) | Sun, Nov 16 |
What friendlies are England playing?
As well as eight World Cup qualifiers, England also have two friendlies lined up this year.
They play Senegal in an international friendly at the City Ground on Tuesday, June 10 (19:45 kick-off) and then Wales at Wembley on Thursday, October 9 (19:45 kick-off).
England are not competing in the Nations League this year.
They topped their group in the 2024/25 Nations League to secure promotion to League A for the 2026/27 edition, which starts in September 2026.
When are the 2026 World Cup play-offs?
If England do not top their qualifying group they might need to go through the play-offs to secure their place at the World Cup.
The play-offs take place in the March 2026 international break and will see teams compete in single-legged semi-finals followed by a single-leg final.
The winner of the final advances to the World Cup.
When is the 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 men's World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
It will be the largest World Cup in history with 48 teams - up from 32 in Qatar 2022 - starting out in 12 groups.
It will be the first World Cup since 2002 in Japan and South Korea to be hosted by more than one nation.
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